Customer Reviews

The Monster Variations

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Daniel Kraus conveys this story mostly "seen through the eyes" of 12 year old boys. Delivered are; vigorous imaginations, mysteries, drama, adventure...blood, sweat & tears...guts & glory...guts & gory grit...ins & outs...ups & downs...all laced with poetic imagery to "fan the fire"...and lets not forget how the various lives of the "adults" around them contributed to the whole saga.

The well written time line weaves a bit back and forth to include the ever widening circle of people and circumstances.

This tale starts in "the now" with a somewhat older James. In this time frame, James runs into Reggie, which begs the story to go back to their 12th year. The majority of the pages are dedicated to that fateful year. Then there is a building and winding back up to the present...and conclusion of the book.

I would love to go into the rich story line, but, really I don't want to diminish the readers' own enjoyment of discovery.
We, the readers, are voyeurs...we witness, we feel, we even squirm here and there...we certainly wonder what is going to happen or be revealed next.

It is a fine and dramatically entertaining study of the human psyche.

Honestly, I could not put the book down...until its very fine "ending".

PS. this book is certainly a great read for adults. And, I would especially give it to any adult who has "lost touch" with their youth.

I really liked Monster Variations. My first reaction was "this reminds me of To Kill a Mockingbird". The story goes its own way though, telling the tale of three twelve year old boys and their summer. It reminded me of a time when boys could still have adventures, even of the gruesome sort that are related here. Remember when you could still play outside after dark? When the whole town knew you, and how good it felt after a whole day spent playing baseball in the heat? Those were the days...

In the opening scenes of this story, one of the boys is struck by a hit and run driver and loses his arm. Later, another boy in town is struck and killed and it's this overlaying sense of dread that follows which gives this story its rather constant sense of foreboding and gloom. We get to meet the parents and alot of the townspeople who are all well done characters that seem to have stepped out of a Faulkner novel. I think teens will like this novel because the struggles the boys go through in their friendship and in relating to their parents are timeless. This is an extremely well written book with some great images that will stay with me for a good while. This novel reminded me how hard it is to be twelve - not a teenager, and not a child. It will resonate with many and I will be recommending it often.

Ok, so first of all, this book sells itself the completely wrong way. I understand that there are some potentially interesting angles that can create buzz amongst readers if you take the `boys are mysteriously' dying pieces and blow them out of proportion. Given the back cover, I was truly expecting I Know What You Did Last Summer, or Scream, but what I got was more like Hearts In Atlantis, and even that movie was scarier than this book. For those of you looking for Goosebumps, this is not your book.

However, in my opinion, the text is much better. I wasn't looking forward to a YA book version of a bad horror flick, so I was pleasantly surprised to find that this novel isn't anything at all like that. It's a story about growing up, making mistakes, and working through difficult circumstances given the various pressures around you. Kraus's narrative voice is perfect for the three main characters. Each is unique and each has a different home life that causes tension and struggles that arise as a result.

Honestly, I love coming of age novels because they hearken to a simpler time in all of us when we're exploring everything life is beginning to offer as we awaken into our teenage selves--weird hormones, friendships forming and dissolving, and the realization that our parents are normal people with problems of their own. I don't think there are enough good books like this one, and I recommend this to boys, ages 10 - 13.

[...]

Whoever wrote the synopsis that appears on the jacket flap of this book should be ashamed of him or herself. By making it appear as if The Monster Variations is a horror thriller, the unknown blurbster has done both the potential reader and the book's brilliant author, Daniel Kraus, a great disservice. The Monster Variations is a visceral tale of twelve-year-old boys on the cusp of manhood. The story is riveting, the imagery remarkable ("his heart scraped itself across the sharp blades of his ribs" ) and the prose luminous.

James Wahl is desperately eager to leave his hometown, his parents, and his childhood behind. Making his getaway to college, James stops at a hole-in-the-wall town for gas and comes face to face with the past he can't outrun. Reggie Fielder was once one of James' best friends and during their twelfth summer they shared adventures and horrors that profoundly changed the young men they would become.

One week into that long ago summer vacation a boy named Greg Johnson is killed in a hit and run. The grown-ups are in an uproar, convinced that a deliberate killer is targeting the town's boys and a curfew is soon declared. This is all particularly troubling for best friends James, Reggie and Willie. Clearly an 8 pm curfew will curtail their summer plans and it won't really protect them. They know this for a fact because Willie was the mad driver's first victim and the hit-and-run that cost him his left arm occurred much earlier in the evening than 8. The boys decide that no curfew is going to mess up their long, glorious summer and when the need arises they won't hesitate to ignore it.

As the weeks go by and the killer is not caught, the boys plan a series of meaningful outings that will test their courage and their friendship. With each passing summer day, it becomes clear that growing up means changing and sometimes even growing apart, but the people who share your transition from childhood to adolescence are the ones who leave the biggest marks on your soul.

I cannot recommend this book highly enough. Do yourself a favor: skip the jacket flap and sink your teeth directly into this wonderful book.

The story begins in the present with James, who on his way out of town runs into Reggie. The story then switches to the year when they were twelve.

Most of what you read will be from this year, when one of their friends is hit by someone in a silver truck, causing him to lose his arm. About two months later, another boy is hit and killed by what everyone suspects is the same truck. This leads the parents and the town to enact a curfew.

Seen through the eyes of 12-year-old boys, this story was very riveting. I enjoyed watching the story unfold. The story is not a hard read but it may not be something you want younger kids to read. I would say that they should be 12 and up.

THE MONSTER VARIATIONS was a fast and enjoyable read that reminds me a little of the movie Stand By Me.

Reviewed by: Breia "The Brain" Brickey

I read The Monster Variations in two sittings. It's well written, moves along fast. Terrific book!